HEMSLEY, George Thomas
| Service Number: | 6163 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 7 August 1916, Sydney, New South Wales |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 23rd Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Moss Vale, New South Wales, Australia, 1 November 1898 |
| Home Town: | Parramatta, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Farmer, Railway Porter |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Belgium, 9 October 1917, aged 18 years |
| Cemetery: |
Tyne Cot Cemetery and Memorial Plot LX, Row A, Grave 8 Headstone reads: Take Thy rest we loved Thee well but Jesus loved Thee best, |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Haymarket NSW Government Railway and Tramway Honour Board |
World War 1 Service
| 7 Aug 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 6163, Sydney, New South Wales | |
|---|---|---|
| 31 Oct 1916: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 6163, 23rd Infantry Battalion, Enlistment/Embarkation WW1, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '14' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Argyllshire embarkation_ship_number: A8 public_note: '' | |
| 31 Oct 1916: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 6163, 23rd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Argyllshire, Sydney | |
| 3 May 1917: | Wounded AIF WW1, Private, 6163, 23rd Infantry Battalion, Bullecourt (Second), GSW (left hand) | |
| 9 Oct 1917: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 6163, 23rd Infantry Battalion, Battle of Poelcapelle |
Help us honour George Thomas Hemsley's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Carol Foster
Son of Gerald and Clara Nina Hemsley of O'Connell Street, Parramatta, NSW
"...6163 Private George Thomas Hemsley, 23rd Battalion of Parramatta, NSW. A farmer prior to enlisting, he embarked from Sydney aboard the HMAT Argyllshire (A8) on 31 October 1916. He was killed in action at Passchendaele, Belgium on 9 October 1917, aged 20. He is buried in the Tyne Cot Cemetery, Passchendaele, Belgium." - SOURCE (www.awm.gov.au)
Medals: British War Medal, Victory Medal
Biography contributed by John Oakes
George Thomas Hemsley (Service Number 6163) was born at Moss Vale, about October 1896. He was a farmer and a junior porter in the Traffic Branch of the NSW Railways. He enlisted in the AIF at the Royal Agricultural Society Showground (Moore Park) on 7th August 1916. He was single, giving his mother as his next of kin, and stating his calling as ‘Farmer Labourer’.
He left Australia from Sydney on 30th October 1916 aboard HMAT ‘Argyllshire’ and reached Plymouth in January 1917. He went to France in March and was taken on the strength of the 23rd Australian Infantry Battalion on 1st April. He was wounded with a gunshot to his left hand in May and evacuated through the 3rd Australian Casualty Clearing Station to hospital at Rouen and then to No. 11 Convalescent Depot.
He fell foul of authority on 18th June 1917 when he was charged with:
‘When on active service, Disobedience to Orders. In a Village Out of Bounds. In a village without a Pass. Not being in possession of an Identity Disc. Not being in possession of a Pay Book’
The penalty imposed was seven days Field Punishment No. 1 - that is to be shackled to a fixed object such as a large gun for public ridicule. On 26th June he was marched in from Buchy Convalescent Depot as a prisoner and re-joined his unit on 2nd July.
Hemsley was killed in action by a shell at Passchendaele on 9th October 1917. Since this occurred within the lines, he was buried nearby. The location must have been recorded so that after the war his remains could be exhumed and re-interred in Tyne Cot Cemetery in Flanders.
- based on the Australian War Memorial Honour Roll and notes for the Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board.
Click images to start slideshow.